Friday, January 28, 2005

I'm posting this at the very real risk of being pilloried by cricket fans. Especially Australian ones. However in a fit of misdirected, and possibly masochistic, optimism I've decided to go ahead.

Over the past week the FICA World 11 have been in NZ involved in a charity cricket series raising funds for the tsunami victims in Asia. Their skipper was spin legend Shane Warne, a man who's achieved fame for his skill at the game but also notoriety for sending naughty text messages as well as serving a year long ban from the game for using a prohibited drug (diet pills provided by his mum no less!). Well it seems Warney may have got in to a spot of bother when he was in Christchurch last weekend. A very reliable source tipped off a national newsroom that Warne had been involved in an altercation outside the Merivale McDonalds at around three AM in the morning following a team dinner last weekend.

The source, (who most definitely won't be named) is adamant Warne had a bit of a dust-up outside the McDonalds restaurant. The local McDonalds spokesman confirmed cricketers had been in the premises on the night in question but is adamant none of their staff (many of whom are cricket fans) saw Shane Warne on the premises and there's no trace of any such incident on their security logs. The Papanui police were asked by a local reporter if any complaint had been laid. The officer spoken to pretty much sent them off with a flea in their ear accusing them of muckraking.

So did something happen or not? If it did, well it's not the sort of news that would surprise anyone given Warney's chequered past. McDonalds are confident nothing occurred, but then would they want the adverse publicity? The line from the Police is nothing happened, or at least if it did it's not worth bothering about. And while not wanting to demonise the Police they've been known to be economical with details on similar incidents in the past. Against all this we have a supposed eyewitness who won't go on the record with their allegations.